The Gather and Grow project, led by the South-West WA Drought Hub with support from the Future Drought Fund (FDF), is helping regional women strengthen their role in farm business decision-making and community resilience. Delivered in partnership with Women in Farming, the program provides small grants for locally led events across 13 regional branches in Western Australia.
Designed to leverage an established network, the project enables strong regional reach and impact. As former Hub Director Dr Jo Wisdom explains, “The Women in Farming network is really unique… we can plug into that network and get the biggest impact.” The project reflects the FDF’s focus on early action and long-term outcomes, supporting communities to build resilience before pressures escalate.
Women play a critical role in agricultural businesses and regional communities. “They wear lots of different hats, so supporting them is really important,” says Melanie English, Women in Farming Wagin Branch President. Gather and Grow responds to this by allowing each branch to design events tailored to local needs, ensuring relevance and practical value.
In Wagin, members chose to hold an event and enlist an expert on drought and fire resilience, following a recent bushfire event that affected parts of the community. The branch identified needs relevant for the women in their farming community, demonstrating how the program supports locally driven priorities. These priorities look different from region to region, but each event aims to empower Women in Farming members to take their practical learnings and implement them back on their own farms. Participants gain insights that can be adapted to changing conditions, supporting more informed and timely decision-making as climate variability increases.
Beyond technical knowledge, the project places a strong emphasis on social connection and wellbeing. Building trust within communities allows participants to share experiences, learn from one another, and support more confident decision-making. By creating a confidential space, participants can talk openly about their needs and provide support when needed.
By combining local knowledge, expert input and strong community networks, Gather and Grow is supporting regional women to contribute to resilient farm businesses and communities. The project highlights the importance of connection, knowledge sharing and locally relevant solutions in supporting long-term drought preparedness across Western Australia.
To learn more about the Gather and Grow program visit the SW WA Drought Hub
Watch the video to see how the SW WA Drought Hub is supporting female farmers build confidence in their decision-making and building community resilience through the Gather and Grow project.
Video duration: 7 mins 41 secs
Introduction
This is the transcript of a video case study produced by the Australian Government's Future Drought Fund (FDF). The South-West WA Drought Hub received funding, under the FDF’s Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hubs program, for their project Gather and Grow project, that supports regional women to strengthen their role in farm business decision-making and community resilience.
Learn more about the Future Drought Fund
[Recording begins]
Music plays.
Dr Jo Wisdom [00:33]
The Gather and Grow Program is a short program with small grants that are available to the Women in Farming branches right across the West Australian regions. The Women in Farming Network is really unique, because it looks at the farm enterprise across 13 regional branches and so we can plug into that network and get the biggest impact.
The Gathering Grow Project was conceived by the South-West WA Drought Hub via funding from the Future Drought Fund, in collaboration with Women in Farming.
The FDF's intent to invest early and build long-term resilience is really one of the things that we've had in mind when we've developed the Gather and Grow Project.
Melanie English [01:20]
Women in Farming contribute to regional communities in lots of different ways. They wear lots of different hats, so supporting them is really important.
Jenny West [01:28]
Some of the challenges we face at the moment are operational costs and the lack of rain. Resilience to me means preparing and making yourself stronger for issues that may come up.
Melanie English [01:38]
The Gather and Grow Project is a fantastic initiative, where each branch can hold an event that's specific to their needs. It's all about empowering women and enhancing knowledge.
The Gather and Grow event that Wagin is hosting is primarily on drought and fire resilience in the garden. The reason we wanted to hold an event that focused on fire and drought resilience was due to a fire that we had go through Wagin, or part of Wagin last January. Some of our members were affected by this. After the fire, we had conversations at the branch level, and it became apparent that finding out more about how to create a garden that was resilient to fire and drought would be really advantageous.
Dr Jo Wisdom [02:24]
This is an effective model because we can get in experts to suit whatever the needs are of that community.
Melanie English [02:31]
I think a project like Gather and Grow is really important because it facilitates conversation and connections within our group. It's a really safe space to share information. It's also a fantastic opportunity to connect with a really good cross-section of women and ages, that can really help give you some insight and wisdom into what you might be going through.
Dr Jo Wisdom [02:55]
Social connection and wellbeing are important to drought resilience because those strong relationships mean that we can get together, we can trust each other, we can hear about things that have worked for our neighbours or our community, and maybe act early.
Jenny West [03:11]
When the group comes together, it's in a confidential environment, which helps women talk openly and they can talk about what they want, and this helps with decision making on the family business.
Melanie English [03:22]
The long-term benefits of events like Gather and Grow are that we are continually getting more information. The climate is always changing and our needs are always changing. A successful Gather and Grow event means that we've come together, heard from an industry expert, and then we're able to take away that information and implement into our farm business.
Dr Jo Wisdom [03:43]
We need to know that our people are strong, that our communities can get together, and we can feel safe and secure enough to be able to take on the next big challenge.
Recording ends [04:05]
A screen displays the logos for the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry and the Future Drought Fund.
Acknowledgement of Country
We acknowledge the continuous connection of First Nations Traditional Owners and Custodians to the lands, seas and waters of Australia. We recognise their care for and cultivation of Country. We pay respect to Elders past and present, and recognise their knowledge and contribution to the productivity, innovation and sustainability of Australia’s agriculture, fisheries and forestry industries.
This project was funded under the Future Drought Fund’s Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hubs program and delivered by the SW WA Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hub.
